moral injury

noun

Harm to an individual's moral conscience and values, resulting from an act of perceived moral transgression on the part of themselves or others, and accompanied by guilt, shame, anger, etc.

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Meanings

nounmoral injury (countable and uncountable, plural moral injuries)

plural moral injuries

  1. countableuncountableHarm to an individual's moral conscience and values, resulting from an act of perceived moral transgression on the part of themselves or others, and accompanied by guilt, shame, anger, etc.

    Photojournalists also dealt with “moral injury,” long-term psychological distress that comes from witnessing actions that violated their moral beliefs.

    2025 April 29, Damien Cave, “How Photography From the Vietnam War Changed America”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Translations

Polish krzywda moralna
  • krzywda moralnaTranslations
Spanish daño moral
  • daño moralTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

moral injury. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moral%20injury

MLA

“moral injury.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moral%20injury. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “moral injury,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moral%20injury.

Source: moral injury on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.